In case you haven't heard, this week September 22, 2016 is the first day of the fall season. That might not be too exciting for you or it may be on your radar, and you're ready to start pulling out your fall attire. Either way, I think you'll find what I'm about to tell you interesting.
This season of everything pumpkin spice and crisp air has become my favorite season for so many reasons that you might already know: warm beverages, pumpkin spice, apple picking, scarves, boots, flannels, sweaters, and the breath taking color-filled trees that line every road. You can check out this article for a more specific list with wonderful images.
However, autumn became my favorite season one morning when I was thinking about why the fall season is so beautiful. That led me to think about what biologically happens to the earth when it hits that autumnal period. What happens to the leaves? Why does the temperature change? All we think about is what we see. We observe the countless shades of red, yellow, orange, green, and brown when we walk outside any building. Taking a deep breath in of the cool, clean air (not humid like the summer) feels as if each breath brings back your best memories with family and friends during this season. Or you think back to the sports you played at the beginning of the school year.
Still, all of this happens as leaves slowly fall from their trees in this process of dying. That's right, the leaves lose life (loss of the chlorophyll) and fall from the tree to the ground below. Furthermore, the leaves fall from the tree so that the tree How can something so sad be so beautiful? That is when I thought of Jesus dying on the cross.
Jesus was crucified and laid to rest, and his followers were sad, to say the least, and did not understand why that needed to happen to Jesus. However, God knew exactly what was going to happen next and that the only way to work on our behalf was to send his son to die on the cross.
There is beauty in death. We see that on the cross, and we visibly see it every fall season.
Even when we don't understand everything that happens in nature (why the colors change, why they must fall, why there must be snow, etc), we can conclude that we don't have all the answers. Yet, we can expectantly wait; the flowers will begin to bud and blossom soon enough. Likewise, we might not know why things are happening the way they are in our lives right now (spiritually, relationally, financially, etc.), but we can trust that that God has something unimaginable right around the corner. If you want to read more about this idea, this book has many insights on how to see the way in which the seasons lay out the story of the gospel!
